Steve Deckert
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TUOLIHAO is a brand that is marketed through Aliexpress. That brand is manufactured by the same people who make our Tube Tots and the T6. We have a great personal relationship with this factory. Our version of these speakers are custom made for us and shipped directly to us where we unpack them, do the final testing, brand them and then repack and store them. In the case of the Tube Tots, the cabinets are custom to our spec and we install our crossover and do the final testing and packaging here at Decware. The T6 on the other hand we do not modify, but are involved in the development and testing of it. It is a symbiotic arrangement as the speaker can be rebranded and we don't have to order 30 pairs at a time. When you see these speakers or Lii Audio speakers posted all over Aliexpress, the majority of those stores do not actually have the speakers in stock despite showing inventory. Also shipping is almost always incorrect since they don't actually have the inventory. Lii Audio / Lii Song has refused to sell any of their products on Aliexpress, yet there are hundreds of stores showing their speakers for sale. All done with bots.
My mission has always been to provide and or recommend speakers that match well with Decware amplifiers. Despite being a competent speaker designer myself, I have never let ego get in the way. This is why I took on Bob Ziegler's speakers, Randy of Caintuck Audio's speakers, Lii Audio speakers, Omega Speakers, recommended Zu, Tekton, Klipsch, and many others as well as these amazing little guys from our friends in China. So you see, I don't actually care who makes the speakers, so long as everyone with our amplifiers can find a pair they like and that work well with low power tube amps.
What I do care about is how the speakers sound, because what is the point of making top drawer tube gear if the speaker isn't going to do it justice.
And after 30 years of selling speakers I have learned that if you could only have one type, the over achieving bookshelf speakers are the ones that work best for most rooms, and are so much easier to ship, and generally cost less.
Steve
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